Plan for SCAD dorms, shops to be outlined

Two neighborhood associations are getting their first chance to provide input on a major development proposed just west of downtown.

Residents of Cloverdale and Carver Heights are set to meet with developers Monday night to learn more about a 22-acre project that would include shops, other retail components and a 96-unit dormitory complex for the Savannah College of Art and Design.

The property is located on West Gwinnett Street just west of Interstate 16 on 22 acres that have been unused since the late '70s.

"Our concerns are the traffic," said Curtis V. Cooper, president of the Cloverdale Neighborhood Association. "This development is being built next to the proposed civic center project."

That could pose a problem, especially because Stiles Avenue is a two-lane road, and neighborhood streets already get backed up when school lets out at Butler Elementary, Cooper said.

"We're not against the project, but we want to make sure the traffic is corrected," he said.

In May, the Savannah City Council, after realizing residents had questions about the scope of the project, directed developers to meet with neighbors.

Attorney Harold Yellin, in presenting the plan to the Metropolitan Planning Commission in June, said the density issue has been solved, partly because students would be inclined to ride bicycles or walk. A drainage plan has been approved by the city, he said.

The council is set to vote Aug. 28 on the proposal.

District 1 Alderman Van Johnson plans to be at Monday's meeting.

To avoid any confusion between the development and the city's plans for a new civic center, Monday's presentation will come from developers only, Johnson said.

A second meeting will be scheduled with city staff, at which the city's plans will be presented, he said.

The city is negotiating for property across the street from the Gwinnett West project to build a new city arena, which would also include offices and government buildings. Voters in 2006 approved it as part of a 1 percent special-purpose sales tax.

Given the long-term ramifications for the entire city, it makes sense to take a methodical, deliberative approach to the Gwinnett Street plans, Johnson said.

Despite his role at Monday's meeting, Johnson said, like many others, he still is not comfortable that he knows all the components included in the 22-acre development.

He wants more details on the retail shops. He wants to know if minority retail is being considered, and he has questions about traffic, drainage and the need for additional police.

Johnson is encouraging residents to attend the meeting and to be ready to do more than listen. "I would encourage them to ask the hard questions," he said, "because the reality is, the developers have a plan, and we just need to know what that plan is."

The master plan and rezoning, Yellin said, are designed to bring more office/professional uses to the neighborhood. Current zoning of business commercial allows for uses such as night clubs, package liquor stores, indoor car washes or auto services.

The new zoning of residential, institutional and professional is more mixed-use residential. He compared the two as the difference between the zoning for south Abercorn Street and Stephenson Avenue.

The new zoning would allow for a grocery store or pharmacy, which Cooper said is needed in the neighborhood.

Yellin, too, wants residents to ask questions. But he thinks more of them may arise from the city's upcoming proposal. "We kind of pale in comparison," he said, "to what may be coming in the future."

If you go

Residents of the Carver Heights and Cloverdale communities plan to meet at 6 p.m. Monday at Temple of Glory Community Church. They will discuss a development plan for a new SCAD dormitory proposed at 1025 W. Gwinnett St.